Bitcoin continued to hold steady Monday after losing the $26,000 mark last Thursday. This drop came despite the price surging by just over 7% last Tuesday on the back of the Grayscale-fueled hype.

The repercussions of Bitcoin’s stumble have been felt throughout the crypto market as major assets shifted into the “red zone.” Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, has witnessed a 5.6% loss since last Tuesday, completely wiping out last week’s gains.

Elsewhere, cryptocurrencies such as Solana (SOL) also got hit hard, falling by just over 10%, while Dogecoin (DOGE) and Shiba Inu (SHIB) dropped by about 7% and 8% respectively.

Notably, while the crypto market is no stranger to price fluctuations, this recent drop has been linked to recent actions by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The SEC’s decision on August 31 to delay a verdict on applications for spot Bitcoin ETFs from prominent financial firms, including BlackRock, Fidelity, Bitwise, VanEck, and Valkyrie, sent shockwaves through the cryptocurrency community, toppling crypto prices. These applications will now remain in limbo until at least mid-October.

The regulatory body now has about 240 days to review these applications from the moment they are submitted. Recently, Bloomberg analysts James Seyffarth and Eric Balchunas estimated a 75% chance of a spot Bitcoin ETF launching by the end of 2023. However, following the recent statement by the SEC, experts are now reevaluating the possibility of further delays, with investors wondering about the long-term implications of this delay and how it might affect the broader crypto ecosystem.

That said, as Bitcoin hovers below the $26,000 mark, the market remains in a state of cautious anticipation, with traders split as to its next moves.

On Monday, analyst “Crypto Market Trends” shared insights into the current state of the cryptocurrency market, emphasizing that Bitcoin (BTC) is currently trading within a narrow range, hovering above a significant horizontal support level of $25,000.

Sharing a chart, the pundit highlighted the importance of breaking out of the Ichimoku cloud and surpassing the 100 Moving Average (MA) for a robust bullish trend confirmation.

However, he cautioned against potential downside risks, warning that if Bitcoin fails to hold its ground above the horizontal support, it may continue the bearish move.

Charles Edwards, Founder of Capriole Fund, recently noted that while the high timeframe trend remains bearish, Bitcoin is approaching a critical support level at $24,300, along with the historical price floor of Bitcoin’s Electrical Cost at $23,100.

“I am feeling very confident in $23K being a rock-solid support and an incredible long-term opportunity if we get there in the next few weeks. Electrical Cost has a 100% hit rate through Bitcoin’s history. It’s my favorite long-term Bitcoin metric.” He tweeted.

At press time, BTC was trading at $25,901, down 0.25% in the past 24 hours.